Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

I have had a lifelong love of animals and an odd attraction to oddities. Perhaps it is only natural that I have compiled a list of my favorite, most unusual, uniquely awesome or just plain bizarre animals.  These creatures’ natural habitats span the globe so if you would like to see more of them, but trips to Asia, Australian walkabouts or Kenya safari packages aren’t in the budget, I’d suggest looking them up on the Internet.

Without further ado:

5.  Cantor’s Giant soft-shell Turtle – Growing up to 6-feet long and weighing in excess of 100 pounds, this girl isn’t likely to become the next must-have apartment pet. What I find most curious is her squashed appearance, making her look bit like a turtle pancake.  I suppose this is useful for an animal that spends 95-percent of her life buried with nothing but a portion of head exposed.  Most recently spotted in Cambodia, the Giant soft-shell Turtle is listed as a threatened / endangered species. 

4. Malayan Tapir – The juvenile Malayan Tapir might be the cutest thing I have ever seen. A distant cousin of the rhinoceros, the distinctively black and white adult looks more like the love child of a giant panda and an anteater.  In size, this species can range anywhere from 3.5-feet tall to 8-feet long and from as little as 500-pounds, all the way up to 1,100-pounds.  The Malayan Tapir is also listed as a threatened / endangered species.

3.  Jackson’s Chameleon – Hailing from the regions of Kenya and Tanzania, Jackson’s Chameleon is the funniest little thing ever.  Much like a modern day miniature Triceratops with curious independently roving eyeballs, he also bears the distinction of being the only lizard to make my list. 

2.  Elephant Shrew – They say dynamite comes in small packages well so, evidently, does cuteness!  The Elephant Shrew averages just about 6-inches long and roughly 9-ounces.  He’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but packs at least two-tons of “adorable”.  This shrew, which isn’t actually a shrew at all, is most common in the southern parts of Africa.  Good luck getting a glimpse, he’s not particularly sociable. 

1.  Duckbilled Platypus – Probably the most famous animal oddity, the Platypus undoubtedly brings a huge measure of cool to utter confusion.  Appearing much like a textbook example of evolution gone awry; our furry, web-footed friend can’t seem to decide if she’s beaver or otter or duck or something else entirely.  Curiously, the female is one of two egg laying mammals and the male is one of only about seven venomous mammals. Platypus has baffled the world since she was first examined by British scientists more than two hundred years ago and will likely continue to do so in the foreseeable future.